U.S. Pat. No. 3,192,551, issued July 6, 1965, discloses a windshield wiper blade assembly having a one-piece resilient backbone member or superstructure fabricated of a suitable resilient, metallic material and designed such that uniform wiping pressure is exerted along the entire length of an associated wiper blade by means of a wiper arm acting at a central point along the superstructure. The uniform wiping pressure is achieved by forming the wiper superstructure in a curvalinear manner with a radius of curvature less than that of the windshield to be traversed thereby, together with varying the width and/or thickness of the superstructure member from a maximum through the central arm attachment point to a minimum at the opposite ends thereof, with the width and/or thickness and degree of curvature being proportioned or correlated with the modulus of elasticity, load and length of the blade, so as to assure for the desired uniform wiping pressure.
The present invention embodies a number of improved features over the wiper blade construction shown in the aforesaid U.S. Pat. No. 3,192,551 and thus, while being related in principle to the windshield wiper blade assembly disclosed therein, the present invention incorporates significant improvements which provide for improved economy of production, operation and assembly as compared to the blade assembly as shown in said patent.
It is accordingly a general object of the present invention to provide a windshield wiper blade assembly which features a number of improvements over the comparable unit shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,192,551.
One of the primary areas of improvement of the present invention over the construction shown in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 3,192,551 resides in the fact that the superstructure or backbone member embodied therein is fabricated of a one-piece, molded, polymeric material, which may be conveniently molded by any one of a number of suitable well-known and highly accepted techniques. The fabrication of the superstructure of such a material not only lends itself to a highly durable, corrosion resistant structure, but also one which may have the color pigmentations embodied integrally thereof so as to obviate the need for subjecting the superstructure to subsequent painting, anodizing or other coloring and/or corrosion preventative treatments.
It is accordingly another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved windshield wiper blade assembly which has the main superstructure or backbone member thereof fabricated of a molded plastic material.
Another feature of the present invention over that shown in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 3,192,551 resides in the fact that the associated wiper blade is secured to the superstructure by means of a coextensive retainer member which, like the superstructure, may be fabricated of a molded plastic material. The retainer member is designed so as to have a coextensive slot extending along the underside of the entire length thereof, which slot is adapted to nestingly receive a complementary-shaped portion of the wiper blade. The entire assembly consisting of the wiper blade and retainer member is adapted to be secured to the superstructure by means of a plurality of downwardly projecting fingers or retainer elements formed integrally of the superstructure and adapted to be received within laterally opposed recesses formed along the opposite sides of the retainer member. This arrangement provides for positive retention of the wiper blade and retainer member within the confines of the superstructure, and assures that the wiper blade will assume the curvalinear shape to which the suuperstructure is formed. Moreover, such a construction permits convenient removal of the blade for purposes of repair, replacement, inspection, etc.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a windshield wiper assembly which embodies a novel wiper blade retainer member and means for releasably securing the same to the molded plastic superstructure associated therewith.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.